What We Do When We Do Church – Thy Kingdom Come

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Luke 11:2-4

“Father,hallowed beyour name. Your kingdom come. Give useach day our daily bread, andforgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Andlead us not into temptation.”

The Gospels use two different “kingdom” phrases – the kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God. They actually mean the same thing.

Matthew uses “kingdom of heaven” in order to avoid misusing God’s name – which is an established Jewish custom by the first century.

Mark and Luke help their Greek readers understand what Jesus meant by “kingdom” by using “kingdom of God.”

Jesus was once asked when the kingdom of God would come. This question comes from the idea that the Messiah would come “all at once” as a political, earthly King. But Jesus dispels this idea by saying that the kingdom of God is within each believer.

Martin Luther picked up on this. After all, Luther was first and foremost a Hebrew professor! When we pray for God’s kingdom to come – and the next phrase of the Lord’s prayer goes along with it, “Thy will be done” – we are praying that God would use us to spread the Gospel. Where the Gospel is proclaimed, God’s reign on earth is extended one heart at a time!